Josh Hart vs. Shaquille O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shaquille O'Neal and Josh Hart, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Josh Hart played 9 years in the NBA, 10 less than Shaquille O'Neal, who played 19. Josh Hart had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, while Shaquille O'Neal had his rookie season in 1992-93. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2017-18	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Did not play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	63	23.2	7.9	0.7	3.5	4.2	1.3	0.7	0.3	0.7	1.7	2.8	6.0	.469	1.2	3.1	.396	1.0	1.5	.702
difference:	+18	+14.7	+15.5	+3.5	+6.1	+9.7	+0.6		+3.2	-3.1	-2.3	+6.2	+10.1	+.093	+1.2	+3.1		+4.3	+7.4	+.110
Shaquille O'Neal	81	37.9	23.4	4.2	9.6	13.9	1.9	0.7	3.5	3.8	4.0	9.0	16.1	.562	0.0	0.0	-	5.3	8.9	.592
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Josh Hart nor Shaquille O'Neal played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2018-19	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	67	25.6	7.8	0.5	3.2	3.7	1.4	1.0	0.6	0.9	2.2	2.8	6.9	.407	1.4	4.1	.336	0.8	1.2	.688
difference:	+14	+14.2	+21.5	+4.2	+5.3	+9.5	+1.0	+0.1	+2.3	-1.8	-1.3	+9.0	+12.7	+.192	+1.4	+4.1		+5.0	+9.3	+.134
Shaquille O'Neal	81	39.8	29.3	4.7	8.5	13.2	2.4	0.9	2.9	2.7	3.5	11.8	19.6	.599	0.0	0.0	-	5.8	10.5	.554
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	3	42.0	20.7	5.7	7.7	13.3	2.3	0.7	3.0	3.3	4.3	7.7	15.0	.511	0.0	0.0	-	5.3	11.3	.471

Season 3
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2019-20	1994-95
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Magic Lost NBA Finals

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	65	27.0	10.1	0.9	5.6	6.5	1.7	1.0	0.4	1.2	2.5	3.5	8.2	.423	1.9	5.4	.342	1.3	1.8	.739
difference:	+14	+10.0	+19.2	+3.3	+1.7	+4.9	+1.0	+0.1	+2.0	-1.4	-0.8	+8.3	+12.0	+.160	+1.9	+5.3	+.342	+4.5	+9.0	+.206
Shaquille O'Neal	79	37.0	29.3	4.2	7.3	11.4	2.7	0.9	2.4	2.6	3.3	11.8	20.2	.583	0.0	0.1	.000	5.8	10.8	.533
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	21	38.3	25.7	4.5	7.4	11.9	3.3	0.9	1.9	3.5	4.0	9.3	16.1	.577	0.0	0.0	-	7.1	12.4	.571

Season 4
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2020-21	1995-96
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Magic Lost East Conf Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	47	28.7	9.2	1.1	6.9	8.0	2.3	0.8	0.3	1.0	2.4	3.2	7.3	.439	1.3	4.1	.326	1.5	1.9	.775
difference:	+7	+7.3	+17.4	+2.3	+0.8	+3.0	+0.6	+0.2	+1.8	-1.9	-1.2	+7.8	+11.8	+.134	+1.3	+4.1		+3.1	+7.6	+.288
Shaquille O'Neal	54	36.0	26.6	3.4	7.7	11.0	2.9	0.6	2.1	2.9	3.6	11.0	19.1	.573	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	9.5	.487
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	12	38.3	25.8	4.1	5.9	10.0	4.6	0.8	1.3	3.7	3.3	10.9	18.0	.606	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	10.2	.393

Season 5
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2021-22	1996-97
Team	New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	54	33.2	14.9	1.1	6.0	7.2	4.1	1.1	0.2	2.1	2.8	5.3	10.5	.504	1.4	3.9	.343	3.0	3.9	.758
difference:	+3	+4.9	+11.3	+2.7	+2.7	+5.3	+1.0	+0.2	+2.7	-0.8	-0.7	+5.5	+8.9	+.053	+1.4	+3.8	+.343	+1.5	+5.5	+.274
Shaquille O'Neal	51	38.1	26.2	3.8	8.7	12.5	3.1	0.9	2.9	2.9	3.5	10.8	19.4	.557	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	9.4	.484
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	9	36.2	26.9	4.2	6.3	10.6	3.2	0.6	1.9	2.4	4.1	9.9	19.2	.514	0.0	0.0	-	7.1	11.7	.610

Season 6
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2022-23	1997-98
Team	Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	76	32.3	9.8	1.9	5.9	7.8	3.8	1.2	0.3	1.5	2.6	3.6	6.8	.529	0.8	2.2	.372	1.7	2.3	.750
difference:	+16	+4.0	+18.5	+1.6	+2.0	+3.6	+1.4	+0.5	+2.1	-1.4	-0.6	+7.6	+12.3	+.055	+0.8	+2.2		+4.3	+9.1	+.223
Shaquille O'Neal	60	36.3	28.3	3.5	7.9	11.4	2.4	0.7	2.4	2.9	3.2	11.2	19.1	.584	0.0	0.0	-	6.0	11.4	.527
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	11	32.1	10.4	1.6	5.7	7.4	2.2	0.8	0.3	1.9	3.5	4.1	8.5	.479	0.9	2.9	.313	1.3	2.0	.636
difference:	+2	+6.4	+20.1	+2.1	+0.8	+2.8	+0.7	+0.3	+2.3	-1.4	-0.3	+8.1	+11.3	+.133	+0.9	+2.9		+4.9	+10.2	+.133
Shaquille O'Neal	13	38.5	30.5	3.7	6.5	10.2	2.9	0.5	2.6	3.3	3.2	12.2	19.8	.612	0.0	0.0	-	6.2	12.2	.503

Season 7
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2023-24	1998-99
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	81	33.4	9.4	1.6	6.8	8.3	4.1	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.1	3.6	8.4	.434	1.0	3.2	.310	1.1	1.4	.791
difference:	+32	+1.4	+16.9	+2.2	+0.1	+2.4	+1.8	+0.2	+1.4	-1.0	-1.1	+6.8	+9.7	+.142	+1.0	+3.2		+4.4	+8.8	+.251
Shaquille O'Neal	49	34.8	26.3	3.8	6.9	10.7	2.3	0.7	1.7	2.5	3.2	10.4	18.1	.576	0.0	0.0	-	5.5	10.2	.540
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	13	42.2	14.5	2.8	8.7	11.5	4.5	1.0	0.8	2.6	3.2	5.1	11.5	.440	1.7	4.5	.373	2.7	3.7	.729
difference:	+5	+2.8	+12.1	+2.7	+2.6	+0.1	+2.2	+0.1	+2.1	-0.3	-0.4	+4.8	+7.9	+.070	+1.7	+4.5		+4.2	+11.1	+.263
Shaquille O'Neal	8	39.4	26.6	5.5	6.1	11.6	2.3	0.9	2.9	2.3	3.6	9.9	19.4	.510	0.0	0.0	-	6.9	14.8	.466

Season 8
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2024-25	1999-00
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	77	37.6	13.6	2.1	7.5	9.6	5.9	1.5	0.4	2.1	2.6	5.2	10.0	.525	1.1	3.3	.333	2.1	2.7	.776
difference:	+2	+2.4	+16.1	+2.2	+1.9	+4.0	+2.1	+1.0	+2.6	-0.7	-0.6	+6.9	+11.1	+.049	+1.1	+3.3		+3.4	+7.7	+.252
Shaquille O'Neal	79	40.0	29.7	4.3	9.4	13.6	3.8	0.5	3.0	2.8	3.2	12.1	21.1	.574	0.0	0.0	-	5.5	10.4	.524
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	18	35.7	11.6	2.4	6.3	8.8	4.4	1.1	0.6	1.9	3.4	3.8	8.0	.472	1.1	3.0	.370	2.9	3.7	.776
difference:	+5	+7.8	+19.1	+2.8	+4.0	+6.6	+1.3	+0.5	+1.8	-0.5	-0.5	+8.6	+14.0	+.094	+1.1	+3.0		+3.0	+9.2	+.320
Shaquille O'Neal	23	43.5	30.7	5.2	10.3	15.4	3.1	0.6	2.4	2.4	2.9	12.4	22.0	.566	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	12.9	.456

Season 9
	Josh Hart	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2025-26	2000-01
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play (season in progress)	NBA Champion
Others	NBA Cup Champion	-

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	28	30.3	12.3	1.8	6.3	8.0	5.1	1.4	0.3	2.1	2.5	4.6	9.3	.498	1.6	4.0	.389	1.5	1.8	.837
difference:	+46	+9.2	+16.4	+2.1	+2.5	+4.7	+1.4	+0.8	+2.5	-0.8	-1.0	+6.4	+9.9	+.074	+1.6	+4.0		+5.2	+11.3	+.324
Shaquille O'Neal	74	39.5	28.7	3.9	8.8	12.7	3.7	0.6	2.8	2.9	3.5	11.0	19.2	.572	0.0	0.0	-	6.7	13.1	.513
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Josh Hart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	16	42.3	30.4	5.7	9.8	15.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	3.6	3.4	11.9	21.5	.555	0.0	0.0	-	6.6	12.5	.525

Additional Years
* Shaquille O'Neal played 10 seasons more than Josh Hart in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 19, from 2002 to 2011—Shaquille O'Neal played in 9 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over Josh Hart, Shaquille O'Neal got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 5 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 7 All-Star Game 2 All-Star Game MVP